Maison Law represents victims of drowning accidents across California. This includes those that happen at Folsom Lake in northern California. We can help you through the legal process by explaining your options and what you need to do to recover damages from those responsible. Don’t wait–contact us today to set up a free consultation.
Do You Even Need a Lawyer After a Drowning Accident?
The answer here depends on the circumstances. While most of these accidents lead to serious injuries, some can be minor. So when there’s just minor injuries, you probably don’t have to worry about taking legal action.
However, a drowning accident is typically serious because of the level of injuries–sometimes even resulting in death. The more serious the injuries or the more questions you have about liability and our options, the better our team can help you.
Here’s how we approach these cases:
- Explaining your options – In our initial free consultation with you, we’ll look at the facts of your accident and what your best options are for moving forward, whether it be an insurance claim or lawsuit. We’ll also explain that process.
- Getting all the facts – In looking at your accident, it’s important to have an idea of what happened. We’ll get records, reports, and other pieces of documentation to put together a timeline of events. This will also help to establish your damages and potential liability on the part of Folsom Lake and others.
- Making the process easier – When you’re dealing with injuries and worse, the process after a drowning is already difficult enough. So when you try to also explore your legal options, it’s overwhelming. We can take care of the legal side of things while you focus on recovering.
Once you decide you want to fully explore your legal options, we’ll be there to support you. And while we can help in a variety of ways, one of the first things you’ll need to figure out is who exactly is responsible for the accident.
Liability in Drowning Accidents
Folsom Lake, as an entity, is operated by California State Parks. But there’s many different vendors, property owners, and other business operations that are present there. As such, nailing down who exactly is responsible for your particular drowning accident can be difficult.
But as an injury claim, a drowning accident means that liability is based on negligence. So if you can figure out who acted with negligence–breaching their duty of care to you–and caused your injuries, you’ll know who the responsible party is.
In a typical drowning accident, the following parties could be liable:
- The state government – As a government entity, Folsom Lake and the State Parks Department could be liable if you or someone you’re with drowns while there.
- Property owners – Owners of lake houses or property with lake access can be held liable if someone visiting there drowns. They have a responsibility to warn visitors of hazards and to keep control of access to the water.
- Product manufacturers – Companies and private owners of boats can also be responsible in the event of malfunctions or failures that cause accidents and drownings.
- Contractors – People like security or maintenance contractors can also be held liable in a drowning, especially if they were supposed to maintain security or failed to maintain certain areas of the lake to keep you safe.
Damages
After a drowning accident, you can recover financial support for your injuries through an insurance claim or a lawsuit. It usually starts with an insurance claim and may lead to a lawsuit depending on your case. The goal is to get damages from whoever is responsible.
Damages you can recover include:
- Medical expenses and ongoing care – These damages cover all your medical costs, therapy needs, and ongoing treatment after the accident.
- Lost wages – These damages are meant to cover any income you lose because the accident prevents you from working.
- Pain and suffering – These address the physical pain and mental anguish you experience due to the accident.
- Emotional distress – Similarly, these damages deal with the anxiety and emotional trauma caused by the accident.
- Loss of quality of life or companionship – These damages are designed to cover how the accident affects your life and relationships.
- Wrongful death expenses – If the drowning accident is fatal, your surviving family can recover costs associated with funeral or burial arrangements.
As with any claim, getting these damages is up to how well you present your case. As such, it’s on you to provide documentation that shows the extent of the impact of the accident. Moreover, you have to file within California’s statute of limitations for injury claims, which is two years from the date of the accident itself.
How Can You Bolster Your Claim?
Although it’s somewhat unique in terms of accidents, drownings are nonetheless an injury claim in the eyes of the law. So, like any injury claim, you have a responsibility to do everything you can to strengthen your claim. Here’s a few ways you can do that:
- Get help – If you see someone drowning, call 911 right away. Only try to help if it’s safe for you too. If you’re the one that’s in danger of drowning, try to signal to anyone for help.
- First aid – If the person is unconscious after coming out of the water, do CPR if you know how. Keep them stable until paramedics arrive. If it’s you involved and you can, go to the hospital.
- Report the accident – Let lifeguards, park rangers, or the police know about the accident at Lake Tahoe, depending on where it happened.
- Take notes – If you’re part of the accident, write down where, when, and how it happened. This helps for insurance or legal reasons.
- Get further medical care – Even if everyone seems okay at first, it’s important to go to the hospital to check for hidden injuries or risks of more problems.
- Document the accident scene – If you can, take photos and videos of where the accident happened and get names and numbers of anyone who saw it. This can help with insurance or legal claims later.
- Follow up with your doctors – Keep talking to your doctors and do what they say for your recovery.
There’s no question that dealing with the legal aftermath of a drowning accident can be tough, but we’re here to lighten the load for you and your loved ones. We’re committed to making this process as smooth as possible because we believe it benefits both you and us in the long run.
Folsom Lake Drowning Accident Victims Can Turn to Maison Law
Maison Law is here to help drowning accident victims at Folsom Lake. Any accident there can be scary, but drowning is especially serious. You or your loved one might be hurt badly or even lose their life. Our California drowning accident lawyers understand what you’re going through and can help you. Contact us today for a free consultation to see how we can support you during this tough time.
